But for millennials, who were in their teens when Linkin Park’s blockbuster debut Hybrid Theory was released in 2000, Bennington looms as a defining rock star of the era. A singer capable of both piercing bombast and pained sensitivity, Bennington’s nimble tenor initially played off the rapping of Mike Shinoda, but over time his versatility and soulfulness made him the band’s primary frontman. For kids who found solace in Linkin Park’s music, Bennington was the band member they were most likely to connect with.

Linkin Park’s canny mix of pop, hip-hop, and melodic alt-rock drove Hybrid Theory to sales of more than 11 million copies, making it the top-selling rock record of the ’00s. Given the rapid changes to the music industry in the immediate aftermath of Hybrid Theory, it’s plausible to suggest that no rock record will ever come close to achieving those sorts of sales figures ever again. The album single-handedly initiated Bennington into a small (and now rapidly shrinking) fraternity of arena-rock vocalists — it’s no wonder that Stone Temple Pilots called on him to replace Scott Weiland for a brief spell before Weiland’s death in 2015. Bennington was one of the few guys on the planet with the qualifications to front a big-time rock band.

first time i heard LP i was… 11, maybe 12. i thought they were awesome. by the time i was 16 i was completely done with them. bit felt like every song from hybrid theory was eventually a radio hit, so coupled with the amount of times i listened to my cd-r with all the songs on it, i was GD tired of that band. But sometimes I still get drunk and go down the youtube nostalgia hole and will listen to a song or two.

Hey Steven, I just wanted to say I enjoyed reading this piece. The tone is perfect. As my musical tastes expanded, linkin park was my first “big” band experience as I had received hybrid theory as a gift the year it came out. The strokes ended up winning my tastes over with last nite (like most of us, id assume). Do this really resonated with me, because if you were paying attention to music back then, there really wasn’t another exciting band to follow back then, Pre-strokes. Really moving stuff here. Good job man!